Ongoing Threats

In response to recent concerns about media warnings of growing cybercrimes, malware, and ransomware threats, this is real and should be a concern for all. But 99.9% of those reading this will shrug it off and do nothing.

Do not wait or procrastinate.

Top Thoughts And Recommendations

You will always be the weakest link. Emotions and quick actions are frequently toyed with and taken advantage of. Stop, Take A Moment, and Assess (STAMA) phone calls, emails, links, and web pages. Disbelieve before believing, especially when asked for information. Focus on privacy. Every bit of information you give is another “puzzle piece” collected about you.

Ditch your traditional antivirus – it’s like wearing a fishnet to keep dry in the rain. The sheer number of attacks and threats is nothing less than a hurricane. Your protection should be on a cybersecurity platform, lightning-fast, and autonomously driven. Recommend an Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solution – roughly $100/year.

Go ‘slim’ with apps and programs on your devices. If you don’t use it, lose it. Every app or program is another opportunity, or doorway, on your device. Installed apps have access permissions. Minimize those unless you are 100% confident in the publisher and software.

Passwords, stop reusing passwords or iterations of them. Use a password manager and change all passwords regularly. Go big or go home with password complexity. The longer and more complex the password is, the better. Strive for 50 to 100+ character passwords – the power of a password manager.

Lastly, remember that just because you are unaware of being compromised doesn’t mean you are not. Be cautious communicating on the internet. Ditch what you do not need, use. Change those passwords. Arm your devices with the best enterprise-level cyber threat protection you can find. And, of course, it doesn’t hurt to have a professional in your corner.